Cigar-bunching machine



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. R. WILLIAMS. CIGAR B UNGHING MACHINE.

No. 548,686 Patehted 'Oct. 29, 1895.

. WITNESSES Anon/var."

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

I J. H. WILLIAMS; 4

GIGAR BUNCHING MACHINE.

No. 548,686. Patented Oct. 29,1895.

c r5" w F7 f x l I i WITNESSES INVENZDR. jwwfiwm \m BY r 3 Sheets-Sheet3.

'(No Model.)

J R WILLIAMS CIGAR BUNGHING MAGHIKE.

- 1 I ,5-4s,6s6. Patented Oct. 29, 1895.

) INVENTQH GENE).

fifib atbtzoiigom-ifimay concern:

Be. it knownthat I, J oHN R; WILLIAMS, a, citizen of the'United States,and a resident of rN6Wa1k, ll1 the county of Essex and'State of fNew.;Iersey, have invented certain new and F useful Improvemer ts inOigar-Bunching Machines, of which the-following is a specification. i w

The"'invention relates to improvements in I 1 5 scribed in LettersPatent of the United States No; 422,000, granted to me on the 25th dayof i February, 1890, and in Letters Patent No. -442,;278,-grarntedto meDecember 9, 1820. In

:tho' lastm'entioned'patent will be found a "20 feed-trough in which bymeans'of conveyor-f .belts the leaf-tobacco is moved along toa series ofyielding plungers, which drive definite charges-of the tobacco downwardto a chargebox, which conveys them to the bun'ch-formz 5 iug mechanism,and in said patent, particularly-ji'n l igures 9 to 13, inclusive, isshown an arrangement of devices by which when an nndue quantity of thetobacco is fed to the trough an alarm will be sounded and the attendantthereby warned of the. excessive quantity oftobacco in the trough.

My present invention consists in automatic mechanism, particularlyspecified in the claims, by which the surplus quantity of tobacco fed tothe trough will be removed and separated from the main body of tobaccoin the trough, thusleaving the tobacco being fed to the plungers andbunch-rolling mechanism uniform in quantity. "F40 --The particularnature of the invention will be more fully understood from the detaildescription hereinafter presented, reference besaid feed-trough, andillustrating the applieation of the automatic regulator. Fig. 3 is anenlarged longitudinal section of same on the cigar-bunching machines;and it consists in,

the features hereinafter described, and par- "--t-icuiarlypointed'out'in the claims;

I have illustrated the invention asapplied to the cigar-bunching machineshown and" de- Jot- R, WILLIAMS, OF'NEWARK, New JERSEY.

q e em-Bu NCHING MACHINE.

srncmcertoniemg part of Letter Patent No. 548,68B, datec1 October29,1895. t-hppii'cation and January 27,1892. Serial in. 4 Hamish dottedline3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4' is a like view of same, showing the tobaccoin the trough and the operation of the regulator in removing the surplusquantity therefrom. Fig. 5 is an enlarged transverse section of same onthe dotted line 5 50f Fig. 4;; and Fig. 6 is a plan view, partly brokenaway, 0f" 'cert'ain gearing by which motion is communicated to theshafts of the regulator carryiugthe knives for severing the surplus"tobacco from the main body thereof, moving along the trough to theplun'gers and bunch forming mech anism. j r 1 I In the drawings,Adesignates acigar-bunch- .ing machine of the character illustrated inmy aforesaid Patents Nos. 422,000 and 442,278,

and in which B designates the series o'tyieid ing pressers,'and O,averticallyvreciprocating charge-box by which the separate chargesoftobacco are carried downward to the bunchforming meehani'smD.

The tobacco for the bunches is fed into the right-hand end of thefeed-trough E by hand, and is thence carried along said trough by meansof the endless traveling belts F to a point at" which the yieldingpressers B may act upon'it. i

The feed-trough, having the belts F F, is fully illustrated in myaforesaid Letters Patout No. 442,278, and is hence not sought to beindependently claimed herein.

The feed-trough (lettered E) extends to the right asuflicient distanceto enable the operator to convenientlyplace the leaves of toof theroller Ghmounted upon the shaft H, 5

having adjustable bearings, and the'revolving cutters I, which arehorizontal and have their cutting-edges centrally over the longitudinalcenter of the trough E. Upon opposite sides of the main body of thetrough E are provid d the standards J J, which are slotted. to receiveand permit a vertical movement of the ends of the transverse shaft H,which carrice the roller at its center and at its ends is in IOO contactwith the spindles K, extending upward through apertures in the ears L,formed upon the upper endsof the standards J. The spindles K areprovided with the coiled springs M, which exert a downward tension uponthe shaft II and roller G, thereby causing thelatter to have a bearingupon the upper surface of the bodyof tobacco moving along the trough E.The roller G is free to be moved upward by the body of tobacco passingbeneath it when the quantity thereof is sufficient to overcome thetension of the springs M, and in practice it is intended that the bodyof to: 'bacco being fed along the trough shall completely fill the sameup to the upper edges of the conveyor-belts F and that the tension ofthe springs M shall be sufiicient to permit the elevation of the rollerG so that its lower edge will be on a line with the upper edge of thebelts F F without said roller having an undue pressure on the body oftobacco. While the tobacco moving along the trough completely fills thesame up to the upper edges of the belts F F, the knives I I willrevolve, but perform no further function, since at such time there wouldnot be an undue quantity of tobacco in the feed-trough and hence therewould be no surplus to-be removed. Should,

however, an undue quantity of the tobacco be fed into the right-hand endof the trough E, so that the body thereofshould arise in the trough Eabove the belts F F, the roller G would be pressed upward beyond itsnormal position, as illustrated in Fig. 4, and that part of the tobaccoabove the upper edges of said belts would come into contact with and besevered by the knives I I. The knives I I are mounted upon the shafts N,and one of said shafts receives its revolving motion by means of thechain 0 and sprocket-wheel I, while the other of said shafts N receivesits motion from the first-mentioned shaft through the chain ofgear-wheels Q, (illustrated more particularly in Figs. 3 and 6,) and theknives I I have, therefore, a simultaneous motion, and this motion iscommunicated from the shaft N to the shaft II through the medium of thecord or belt R and wheel S, the latter being mounted upon the end of theshaft H.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that the body of tobaccomoved by means of the belts F Falong the trough E to the plunger-s Bandbunch-forming mechanism is kept uniform by means of the knives I I andthat it is intended that the proper quantity of tobacco constitutingsaid body shall fill the trough E up-to the upper edges of the belts F.In order, however, that the quantity of tobacco moving along thetrough Ebetween the belts F may be regulated in accordance with the sizeof thebunches to be formed,

there is provided inthe base of the said trough a vertically-adjustablebottom T, by which the depth of the trough may becontrolled to meet therequirements of the tobacco moving through it. The bottom '1 is more cl'ztl'l seen in Figs. 2 and 3, and consists of a loll tudinal plate equalin width to the space between the belts F F and having at its lower sidethe lugs V, extending downward through the openings W in the main bodyof the trough and being provided with the inclined slots X, throughwhich the set-screws Y pass,

said set-screws being carried by rigid lugs a, extending downward fromthe trough. The

position of the bottom Tin Fig. 3 is such as to allow the largestquantity-of tobacco to be carried by the belts F to the plungersB andbunch-forming mechanism; but when itis desired that a smaller quantityof tobacco shall be carried by said belts for the formation of bunchesof smaller size the bottom T will be moved toward the left, thus causingthe elongated slots S to ride upward on the set-screws Y- aud resultingin the uniform elevation of the bottom T above the bottom proper of thetrough E and reducing the space below the upper edges of the belts F,through which the body of tobacco is carried. Prior to adjusting thebottom T upward between the belts tity of tobacco will be controlledand'deterte nprior tQits assageio theleft of..th'e

said knives. p

The belts F F move upon band-wheels b at opposite ends of the machineand receive their motion from the main driving-shaft th'ereofthroughintermediate gearing, as described in my aforesaid Letters Patent No.442,278. 7

The gearing Q (illustrated more particularly in Fig. 6) will preferablybeinclosed by abox e, of appropriate outline; but said boxe forms nopart of the invention herein claimed.

In the operation of the invention, the machine being set in motion, theleaves of tobacco for the vcigar-bunches are placed with their endslapping each other in the righthand end of the trough E anti between thebelts F E, which, beiugin motion,'wil1convey the body of tobacco,constantly supplied by fresh additions at the right-hand end of thetrough E, toward the plungers Band bunch It will be observed uponreference to Fig. 3

that the roller G when at rest extends downward a slight distance intothe space between the belts F, and hence when the body of tobacco ismoving along the trough E and cum pletely fills said space the roller Gwill be elevated'to a point at which-its lower edge. is in line with theupper edge of the bolts F, and thus the tension of the springs M willcause said roller to have a proper pressure upon the body of tobacco.When, however, owing to the irregularities of feeding additionalquantities of tobacco into the righthand end of the trough E, the bodythereof moving between the belts F is such as to elevate the roller Gabove the upper edges of the belts F, the knives II, revolving towardeach other, will, as indicated in Fig. 4, sever the excessive quantityof tobacco, leaving the main portion thereof just filling the spacebetween the belts F F. During the operation of the knives I I insevering the surplus quantity of tobacco from the main body thereofbetween the belts F the roller G will, through its increased pressureuppon the tobacco, owing to the extra compression of the springs M,firmly bind upon the tobacco in advance of the knives I I and therebyfacilitate the operationof the latter in severing the upper strata ofthe same. In order that the tobacco rising above the upper edge of thebelts F B may be kept in line, I have provided the plates '11 'i, whichextend upward on the same vertical planes as the belts F F and form achannel through which such tobacco may move and be brought directlybeneath the roller G and in contact with the cutting edges of the knivesI. It is desirable that the surplus quantity of tobacco removed by meansof the knives I I may be automatically directed from the machine, and tothis end I have provided above said knives the box or trough j, intowhich the tobacco passes after being severed by the cuttingedges of theknives I I. I prefer that the box j shall be inclined or curved, so thatthe tobacco entering the same will move outward to one side of theknives I I in convenient position to be entirely withdrawn from themachine. After the main body of tobacco has passed beneath the knives II it will continue to be carried by the belts F F on its passage to theplungers B, whereat, as fully described in my aforesaid Patent No.442,278, it is subdivided into appropriate charges for the bunches to beformed.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-

1. In combination with a cigar machine, the feed trough having theconveyer belts for moving the body of tobacco to the machine proper, andthe vertically adjustable bottom between said belts for regulating thedepth of the trough; substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In combination with a cigar machine, the feed trough having theconveyor belts, the adjustable bottom between said belts, and therevolving knives whose cutting edges meet over and in close relation tothe upper edges of said belts; substantially as set forth.

3. In combination with a cigar machine, the feed trough having theconveyor belts, the adjustable bottom between said belts, the revolvingknives whose cutting edges meet over and in close relation to the upperedges of said belts, and the pressure roller bearing upon the body oftobacco adjacent to said cutting edges, substantially as set forth.

4. In combination with a cigar machine, the feed trough having theconveyor belts, and the adjustable bottom between said belts, saidbottom having the lugs provided with the inclined elongated slots;substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,this 8th day of January, A. D. 1892.

JOHN R WILLIAMS. Witnesses:

CHAS. 0. GILL, ED. D. MILLER.

